Poster #11 - Inherited Pathways: The Intergenerational Impact of Maternal Incarceration

• In Event: Poster Session I (posters 1 - 79)

Abstract

Over 60 percent of incarcerated women in the United States are mothers, yet current criminal justice and child welfare policies largely fail to account for the collateral consequences their incarceration imposes on their children. This literature review examines the mechanisms through which maternal incarceration contributes to intergenerational patterns of criminal justice involvement, with particular attention to the policy reforms needed to disrupt these cycles. Drawing on empirical studies, this paper investigates how economic instability, child welfare system involvement, caregiver disruption, and attachment disruptions serve as pathways from maternal incarceration to children's later criminal justice contact. Moderating factors, including the child's developmental stage at the time of incarceration, the quality of alternative care, and the degree of mother-child contact during imprisonment, are also explored. Guided by Moffitt's dual taxonomy theory, relational-cultural theory, and gender theory, this review argues that meaningful reform requires coordinated intervention across the criminal justice, child welfare, and reentry support systems. Policy recommendations include prioritizing family-centered sentencing, strengthening reunification programs, and expanding community-based alternatives to incarceration for mothers. Addressing these systemic gaps is essential to breaking the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage that maternal incarceration perpetuates.

Authors

• Vianyely Frias, SUNY Oswego

• Megan M. Willows, SUNY Oswego

• Marthinus Christoffel Koen, SUNY Oswego